It was disappointing to note that the Bath Chronicle failed to include some key information in its story about the 6 & 7 bus services (“£36k magazine spend ‘would pay for buses’”, 14 September, 2017).

For some reason the paper did not print details of the Council’s passenger survey of over 500 individual passenger journeys (sent in a response to the Bath Chronicle on 5 September) which showed that over nine out of 10 passengers would not be adversely affected by First Bus’s route change.

The Council had also explained that even where a minority were more affected by the loss of a direct bus service following First’s review, they are able to continue making their journeys by changing buses, using other operators or, in the case of those with mobility difficulties, by becoming members of Bath Dial-a-Ride, which offers a door-to-door service five-days-a-week.

Again, this information did not form part of the Chronicle’s article.

The cover of the summer 2017 issue of 'Together', the council's quarterly magazine for residents

It is incorrect to suggest that £36,000 would pay for additional buses to operate on services 6 & 7 and restore the previous route pattern.

The operating cost of one additional bus running 6 days a week would be around £120,000 per year.

As all passengers affected by the First route change have been using alternative means of getting from A to B by bus since September 2017, it is unlikely that First would get any additional fares revenue to mitigate the additional operating costs for the 6 & 7.

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The limited amount of funding available for bus revenue support has to be prioritised to meet the needs of those members of the public who have no alternatives.

It is also disappointing that the newspaper did not include any information directly from the bus operator First itself – such as commercially unviable user numbers for their service, and the popular alternatives.

Instead, the paper has focused on a single interview with a service user and couple of comments from people on social media.

The Council values the important role that local media has to play in holding organisations to account and presenting the full facts to the public.

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The Council strives to communicate with its residents on important issues with clarity and accuracy – both through its own channels and through other media outlets.

We trust that the standard of the story on this occasion was just a “blip” in the Bath Chronicle’s track record, and not a hint towards “hype-dressed-as-information” – a phrase used in the article itself.

Cllr Mark Shelford

B&NES Cabinet Member, Transport & Environment

Ed note: The council's response noting the passenger survey and other options available for bus-users was published in full on the Bath Chronicle's website on September 11, 2017 . The Chronicle has covered the arguments for and against the 6/7 bus service extensively, including the following excerpt from an article published on our website on August 8, 2016.

Andrew Sherrington, general manager for First Bath, Wells and Weston-super-Mare, said First Bus decided to change the routes after the withdrawal of a local authority subsidy.

Mr Sherrington said that the 6/7 route would not have been profitable once the subsidy, which pays for an extra bus in the cycle, is withdrawn by Bath and North East Somerset Council.

A spokeswoman for the council said a survey of 458 passengers found that less than two per cent of journeys on the 6 and 7 buses are between places that will no longer have a direct bus service after First Bus introduces the changes.

She said: "It is difficult to justify continuation of a subsidy of £39,000 per annum on this basis, against the background of the substantial savings that the council has to make.

"Those passengers wishing to travel between places which no longer have a direct service will still be able to travel between the same two points, but may have to change buses, e.g. Fairfield Park to London Road via city centre.

"Residents of Bath are eligible to join Dial-a Ride if they are unable to use conventional public transport."

Mr Sherrington said First Bus had to make a choice between giving people direct access to Fairfield Park Health Centre and giving them direct access to Morrisons. "We decided it was more important that people could get to the surgery and the local shops," he said.

James Freeman, the bus firm's managing director for the West of England, said the company did not have time to find out what passengers wanted between finding out about the planned subsidy cut in April and and having to plan and register the changes in time for implementation in September 2016.